Rail switches are used in turnouts and crossovers to divert trains to other tracks. They are found extensively in railroad and industrial yards. Rail switches are used in conjunction with railway frogs and sometimes with guard rails. All such railroad track components experience serious impact and wear depending on the sharpness of the turns in which they are located. It is therefore necessary to maintain these components regularly. In spite of such maintenance, engineering departments find it necessary to replace switch rails and other moving components much more frequently than other rail. In fact, switches make up a major percentage of engineering department maintenance costs. Switches are also a major factor in derailments. Studies by the Federal Railroad Administration have shown that the majority of derailments take place within 200-300 yards of a switch. As a car enters a switch, a sudden change in direction results in a lateral impact force on the wheels of the car. This force is produced by the lateral creep force on top of the switch rail and the other two rails and contributes to the dynamic instability of the car, which can lead to derailments under certain conditions.
Rolling cars often stall at, or near a switch indicating that considerable car energy is taken away by the switch. This is also due to the lateral creep forces mentioned above. At a recent technical presentation on the New York Transit, the speaker stated that a large percentage of rail fractures occur near switches. It is theorized that these fractures are also related to the lateral creep impact force mentioned above. The current practice of maintaining switches involves using grease or graphite to lubricate the sliding plates and rods of the switch. The switch point and part of the switch gage corner is also sometimes greased. This provides some reduction in wear of the point and the switch rail. It does not, however, reduce the lateral creep force impact on the wheel sets. Moreover, greasing is generally carried out manually once a week or less and often left undone for long periods of time, resulting in excessive wear and tear, rail fractures and occasional derailments. The top of rail near the switch is not greased because of the danger of locomotive wheel slip. In any case the effect of grease only lasts a few hours after application. In other words, there is no consistent protection or performance enhancement currently available for rail switches.
The same is true for rail frogs, which are present at all rail turnouts and crossovers along with switches. Frogs are hit by the lateral creep force impact in the same way that switches are. There has been considerable effort to improve the metallurgy and profiles of the frogs, but to date there is no protection available against the lateral creep impact force. The present invention also provides a solution to the above problem. While the invention presented here is designed for and installed nearer the switch, it also benefits the frog with “carried over” lubricant by reducing the lateral creep force impact on the frog. It provides automatic protection to the switch, thereby reducing manpower demands for its maintenance. It reduces the lateral creep force impact on the switch and thus makes it safer. In other words, it enhances the performance and life of the switch.